Nancy Drew: Lover's Quarrel
by CLARK-and-LOIS-KENT
Summary: This is set after the movie. I just got the Novelization in today & i read it. Nancy's got to solve a mystery and plan her wedding.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Seventeen year-old Ned Nickerson coughed. He was standing on the front porch of his girlfriend's house. Ned smiled when Nancy popped into his head. _Can it really be only a year since we got together?_ He asked himself. He had always been in love with Nancy Drew. It turns out that she had always been in love with him. Then last year, when Nancy got back from Los Angeles and solved the Dehlia Draycott mystery, they first kissed.

Just then, Hannah Gruen, Nancy's housekeeper and unofficial family member, answered the door. "Ned." Hannah said surprised. "Nancy's not here. She's trying to solve another mystery. I forget which one." Hannah put her finger to her chin, trying to remember.

Ned nodded. He knew the mystery that Hannah was talking about. "The diamonds that the museum had stolen. Actually, I'm here to see Mr. Drew. Is he here?"

"It's his day off." Hannah moved out of the doorway to let him pass. "He's in the den."

Ned patted his pocket to make sure that the expensive item he had bought was still there.

Carson Drew was sitting on a chair, reading a newspaper. When he heard someone enter, he peered over the top of the paper. It was his only daughter's boyfriend. He liked Ned, a lot actually. "What can I do for you, Ned?" Carson asked.

"Sir, please hear me out before you tell me no, get angry and forbid me to see Nancy ever again." Ned pleaded.

Carson frowned. Something was definitely up. And with him being a successful attorney, he knew to listen to the full story and then make a judgment.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Great work, Nancy." Chief McGinnis said. He and Nancy were posing for yet another photo for the local paper. Ned's father owned the paper.

"Thanks, chief. I had a hunch that the diamonds were in the last place that anyone would suspect them." Nancy grinned. _Things are perfect._ She thought to herself. Her father wasn't so upset anymore about her solving mysteries. Ned and she had been dating for over a year now. And to top it off, she hadn't lost her touch to solve mysteries. _I don't think that things could get any better._

Just then, one of her best friends, Bess Marvin, ran toward her. She was waving her right arm in which her cell phone was in. her cousin, George Fayne, ran close behind her. Nancy had to marvel how the cousins were so different from each other. Bess had long blonde hair and always looked like she stepped out of a fashion magazine. What surprised most people about Bess was that she could fix just about anything mechanical. George was the tomboy. Her short dark hair was always under a baseball cap. She never wore anything girly unless she was made to. Also, George was a computer whiz. She could hack her way into anything. When it came to computers, George was the girl to go to.

When they finally got to Nancy, Bess thrust her phone into Nancy's hand. "Your dad is on the phone." She said.

"Hello?" Nancy asked. She really needed to get her own cell phone.

"Nancy." Carson said into the phone. There was something in his tone that sounded like excitement. "Can you get back to the house right now, please?"

"Yeah, but Bess, George and I were going to go out to celebrate." Nancy informed him.

"They can come too. You just really need to get here." Carson replied.

"Okay, we're on our way." Nancy said. She handed Bess back her phone. "Something's up." She stated. Then she noticed the grins on her best friend's faces. "If you know something, tell me." She said.

George shook her head. "You need to go home and find out for yourself."

Nancy sighed and headed toward her roadster.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I'm home." Nancy called when she entered her house. Bess and George followed close behind.

When she entered the den, she found her father, Hannah, and Ned sitting on the couch. "Have a seat, Nancy." Her father instructed.

Once she was seated, Carson nodded at Ned. He got up and sat beside his girlfriend. "Nancy, you know how much I love you, right?" Nancy nodded. "And that I would do anything for you?" Again she nodded.

Ned took a deep breath. "I talked to your father and…" He paused. "What I want to ask you is, will you marry me?"

Bess squealed. Hannah's eyes started to tear up. Carson looked proud and George had a big grin on her face. Ned pulled a ring box out of his pocket and opened it. Inside was a beautiful diamond ring. "Where did you get that?" Nancy asked.

"I took the money out of my savings account and bought you this ring." Ned explained.

"But you were saving for a new truck." Nancy pointed out.

Ned shrugged. "You're more important. So, will you?" Nancy held out her hand and Ned put the ring on. There was a moment of silence. "Um, Nance, you kind of need to say something."

"Yes, I will marry you." Nancy finally said. She wrapped her hands around Ned's neck and they kissed.

Just then Carson cleared his throat. Ned turned back to his fiancée. "There are a few stipulations." Nancy raised an eyebrow. "Since we need our parents to sign for it to be legal, Mr. Drew and I came to an agreement. My parents already gave me their blessing and their permission. Anyway, we have to live here, we can't have sex until we're eighteen, not that we would anyway." He quickly added.

"Is that it?" Nancy asked. Ned and Carson nodded. "That's fine. When's the wedding?"

"May third." Ned replied.

"But that's only a month away." Nancy pointed out.

"Is that a problem?" Carson asked.

Nancy shook her head. "No, but how will we be able to get everything done?"

"That's why you have family and friends." Bess stated.

"She's right. We'll be more then happy to help." George agreed.

"And I'll bake everything for the reception. I'll even do the wedding cake." Hannah offered.

Nancy looked around. Everyone had an eager expression on their face. Then she looked at Ned. The man she loved. The man who wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. "So then it's settled then. May third."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

It turns out that the whole town of River Heights wanted to help. It had been a week since Ned had proposed and somehow it leaked all over town. Since Nancy had often put her life at risk to help the town, they were excited.

"How does this look?" Nancy asked. She was standing in River Height's only bridal store. Bess, George, and Hannah were sitting, watching her try on dresses. Right now she was wearing a simple white gown. It hugged her body, bringing out every curve she had. It had no sleeves; instead it tied around her back.

"It's lovely." Hannah stated, being honest. All the other dresses that Nancy had tried on didn't suit her.

"She's right. It's the perfect one." Bess agreed.

Nancy looked at herself in the mirror. She did look amazing. She ran her hand over the delicate fabric.

"You're missing something." George stated. Nancy turned back to her audience. George had risen and grabbed something off a shelf. She walked over and placed a tiara on her head.

"Now it's complete."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In a tuxedo shop three blocks away, Ned and Carson were trying on their tuxedos. Ned turned to Carson. "Thank you, sir. You don't know what this means to me. I know that Nancy and I are young, but I love her."

"Actually, I do know what it means to you. Nancy's mother and I were wed when we were young." Carson said, thinking of his late wife. Ned was taken back. He had never heard Mr. Drew talk about his wife. "I loved her more then anything else in the world." He quickly changed the subject. "How do I look?"

"You look great." Ned assured him. They were both wearing identical tuxedos. He now saw Carson Drew in a different way.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next morning, while Nancy was eating breakfast, the phone rang. "Hello?" Hannah answered. "Hold on." She held out the phone. "It's for you."

Nancy took the phone. "Hello? Yes, this is Nancy Drew." There was a short pause. "I'll be right there." She hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Hannah asked. She was sitting at the table, drawing a sketch of the wedding cake she was going to bake.

"I've got another mystery." Nancy said excitedly. "That was Mary Wheeler. She just moved to town with her husband and her son."

"Yeah?" Hannah prompted.

"Well, she went to get her son up for basketball practice this morning. He was gone and it looked like someone was in his room. She thinks it's a kidnapping. Apparently she called the police and since he hasn't been missing for twenty-four hours, they can't do anything yet, but Chief McGinnis recommended me." Nancy informed her.

"Aren't you supposed to be meeting Ned to discuss more wedding plans?" Hannah asked.

"Oh. I forgot." Nancy said sheepishly. When she got involved in a mystery, that's all that she was able to focus on. She picked the phone and dialed Ned's house.

"Hello?" Ned answered.

"Ned, I got a huge favor. Is there any way we can meet later today?" Nancy asked. Then she proceeded to tell him the case she was working on.

Ned grinned. That was Nancy Drew. She was one of a kind and he loved her for it. "How about this. I'll do all the wedding plans and you can focus on solving the mystery."

This time it was Nancy's turn to grin. Ned knew her so well and she loved him. He was so patient. Even when their wedding was slowly approaching. "Thanks, Ned, you're the best."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Hi, I'm Nancy Drew." Nancy held out her hand. Mary Wheeler took Nancy's hand.

"Thank you so much for doing this. We just moved here and Chief McGinnis said that you were good at what you do."

"That's okay. It's what I do." Nancy said. She sat down on the couch and pulled out a notebook. "What is your son's name?"

"Damien. He's seventeen." Mary answered.

Nancy jotted down the information. "Okay, what time did he go to bed last night?"

Mary paused. "About ten."

"Okay, this is one of the most important questions. Did or does Damien have any enemies? Anyone back home that he might have offended that wants to get even, a rival basketball teammate or team. Anything at all will help."

"There was his ex-girlfriend." Mary finally said. "She was bitter when he broke up with her. But I don't see her sneaking in here and kidnapping him."

"She could always have had an accomplice." Nancy pointed out. "Did you touch anything in his room?" Mary shook her head. "May I see it?"

They both rose and Nancy followed Mary up the stairs. "My husband is at work right now. He left before I went to get Damien up. I called him and he's devastated but I told him to stay at work. We can't afford to lose this house." Nancy nodded. "This is it." Mary stated.

Nancy pushed the door open. It was a mess. Things were thrown on the floor. "Was he a messy person?" Nancy asked, going on a hunch.

Mary shook her head. "He loves basketball. We told him that if he didn't keep his room clean, we would pull him off the team."

"Then obviously there was a struggle." Nancy said. "Which means that it had to be someone who could easily match or over power Damien's strength." She spotted a broken picture frame lying among the mess. "Is this Damien?" She asked.

"Yes. That was taken before we moved here." Mary replied.

Nancy got down one knee to inspect the picture. Damien was a handsome young man. Short black hair, brown eyes, and a strong jaw. She was about to stand up when she noticed something laying close by. It was partially hidden by some clutter. She pulled out a pencil and started to move the stuff around. "Whose is this?" She asked, managing to hook the object on her pencil.

"Oh, that's a ring that Damien's basketball team got. Every team member has one." Mary explained. "But that's not Damien's"

"Are you sure?" Nancy asked, her sixth sense going haywire.

"Yes. Damien's is different and I have his in my bedroom." Mary stated.

Nancy noticed two letters engraved on the inside. R.S. "May I see Damien's?" Nancy asked.

Mary left and returned with a small box. "It's gone." She exclaimed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nancy returned home after inspecting the entire room. The clogs in her head were moving, coming up with motives and suspects. On her way in, she bumped into Ned coming out. She landed on her rear.

"Are you okay?" Ned asked, bending down to help her up.

"Yeah. Just thinking about the case." Nancy replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Hannah called me over to look at the cakes she had thought of. They're really good." He stated.

"I really appreciate this, Ned. I know that this is a union and we should be both doing this but…" Nancy got cut off.

"It's okay. You're just doing what you're good at. I love you, Nancy Drew, and if you stopped solving mysteries then you wouldn't be yourself. I'm happy with you being whoever you want."

"You're sweet." Nancy leaned in to him. He bent his head down and gave her a kiss.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school." Ned said. He hopped in his truck and with one wave he took off down the road.

Nancy heard the phone ring and ran in to answer it. "Hello?" She asked.

"Keep your nose out of things that don't concern you." A voice said then the line went dead.

Nancy smiled as she replaced the phone on the charger.


End file.
